Eurobank unveils €1bn plan to reshape digital banking

Eurobank says 96 per cent of transactions are now digital Eurobank this week presented its new Banking Forward strategy in Athens, outlining a €1 billion technology investment programme alongside a broad digital banking transformation centred on artificial intelligence (AI), mobile banking and redesigned customer journeys for both retail and business clients. The event took place on June 29 at the Eurobank Campus Conference Centre in Nea Ionia in the presence of chairman George P. Zanias and deputy chief executives Constantinos Vassiliou, Iakovos Giannaklis and Stavros Ioannou. The programme showcased how the bank is using technology, data, AI and a modern digital architecture to create a more personalised, simpler and more efficient banking experience. At the centre of the strategy is the largest technology investment programme in Eurobank’s history, with approximately €1 billion earmarked for the 2025 to 2028 period to strengthen infrastructure, cloud technologies, data capabilities, AI and new digital services. The event also featured the announcement of an expanded strategic partnership with Mastercard, giving Eurobank Mastercard cardholders privileged access to music, cinema, sport and entertainment experiences through Mastercard’s Priceless platform, alongside access to its worldwide acceptance network, advanced security solutions and modern payment technologies. Eurobank Group Chief Digital Officer Constantinos Paikos coordinated the event and presented the strategic direction behind Banking Forward and the trends shaping the future banking experience. International banking developments were examined by Accenture Song Global Banking and Capital Markets Lead Rodrigo Alvarez, while Accenture Financial Services Managing Director and Innovation Lead Nikos Gatidis discussed changing customer expectations and the characteristics defining today’s digital banking environment. Eurobank Chief Retail Growth Officer Yiannis Serafeimidis and Mastercard country manager for Greece, Cyprus and Malta Panagiotis Polydoros presented the expanded partnership between the two organisations. They said the collaboration now extends beyond payments into a wider ecosystem of services and experiences, with Eurobank Mobile App users gaining privileged access to high-demand music events and selected experiences across music, cinema, sport and entertainment through the Mastercard Priceless platform. Senior Eurobank executives also outlined different elements of the bank’s digital ecosystem, including technology infrastructure, cyber security, generative AI, digital customer journeys and business banking services. According to figures presented during the event, 96 per cent of all Eurobank transactions are now completed digitally, while 61 per cent are carried out through the Eurobank Mobile App. Among customers aged up to 35, 94 per cent of transactions take place through the mobile application. The bank records approximately 574 million e-Banking and Mobile Banking logins annually, while customers complete more than one million digital transactions every day. Around 50 per cent of Eurobank’s applications and digital channels already operate in the cloud, supported by more than 1,600 professionals working at its Digital & Technology Hub across more than 30 cross-functional development teams. Those teams have delivered more than 100 new digital capabilities during the past six months. Eurobank also said one in every three banking products is now acquired entirely through digital channels, representing growth of more than 160 per cent during the first half of 2026 compared with the corresponding period of 2025. The bank described Banking Forward as a customer-focused strategy built around a “phygital” service model, combining digital convenience with personal interaction while using technology, data and AI to tailor services to customers’ everyday needs. It said the strategy rests on three interconnected pillars. The first focuses on using data and AI to anticipate customer needs and deliver highly personalised services. The second aims to simplify customer interactions through conversational digital banking. The third integrates banking and non-banking services into broader digital ecosystems designed to create additional value for customers and businesses. Eurobank said digital banking has become embedded in customers’ daily routines. Users log into the Eurobank Mobile App an average of 27 times each month, while seven out of 10 digital customers now manage all of their banking exclusively through mobile devices. The bank’s digital channels currently support more than 5,200 payment options, processing up to 2,500 transactions every minute while serving as many as 160,000 customers every hour. Mobile banking transactions increased by more than 40 per cent during 2025, while during the first five months of 2026 the number of customers using mobile banking was twice the number using traditional e-Banking. Digital product sales have also expanded rapidly, the bank pointed out. During the first half of 2026, one in three banking products was purchased entirely online, while 95 per cent of prepaid cards were issued through the Eurobank Mobile App. The bank said two out of every three active customers are now Digital First users, relying primarily on Eurobank as their main banking provider and maintaining significantly stronger relationships through deposits and lending products. In the business sector, approximately 30 per cent of the value of digital corporate transactions in Greece is processed through Eurobank’s digital channels. A significant part of the presentation focused on artificial intelligence, which the bank said is playing an increasingly important role in customer service, productivity and innovation. Its AI ecosystem includes EVA, the bank’s customer virtual assistant, myEVA, an internal AI voice assistant for staff, the GenAI Factory platform and the Digital Brain programme. AI is already being used in areas including mortgage assessments, customer feedback analysis, contract processing and the development of new digital services. Eurobank said its GenAI Factory combines Microsoft Azure, EY.ai Agentic Platform and NVIDIA accelerated computing, while a strategic partnership with Fairfax Digital Services makes it one of the first banking groups in south-eastern Europe to adopt structured Agentic AI solutions. The bank is also developing an enterprise-wide Digital Brain with Accenture to integrate AI throughout customer experience and internal operations, while its Global Delivery Centre in Pune, India, established with LTM, formerly LTIMindtree, and Fairfax Digital Services, supports innovation across the group’s international operations. Eurobank added that more than 1,500 employees completed specialist AI training programmes totalling over 17,000 hours during 2025 and 2026, while the bank continues supporting the MSc in AI for Digital Transformation at the Athens University of Economics and Business. The bank said technology investment is supported by a comprehensive governance framework ensuring AI is deployed safely, responsibly and transparently in line with regulatory requirements. Eurobank also highlighted the scale of its wider technology transformation. Its Digital & Technology Hub has recruited around 250 new professionals in recent years, while its Digital Factory, comprising 13 agile teams and 146 specialists, has reduced the development time for new digital products from approximately 30 weeks to just eight weeks. The bank said its technology architecture is built around five interconnected layers covering digital services, customer experience orchestration, data and AI, core banking systems and cloud infrastructure. During periods of peak demand, Eurobank processes more than 4.5 million card transactions every day, while Project Omega is redesigning the bank’s core banking architecture to improve flexibility and accelerate product development. Eurobank said around half of its applications now operate in the cloud, enabling stronger security, greater flexibility and faster deployment of new services. The bank added that technology development extends across its five markets of Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom, highlighting the completion of its Temenos core banking migration in Luxembourg, the operational integration of Eurobank Cyprus and the Bank of Cyprus under Eurobank Ltd in Cyprus, and continuing digital transformation at Postbank in Bulgaria. Finally, Eurobank said that security and trust remain fundamental to digital banking, with continued investment in cyber security, regulatory compliance, resilient infrastructure, European partnerships and staff awareness forming the foundation of its expanding digital ecosystem.